Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki (大筒木ハゴロモ, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo), known to the world at large as the Sage of the Six Paths (六道仙人, Rikudō Sennin), was a legendary god-like figure who founded ninshū and created the ninja world. He was the son of Princess Kaguya Ōtsutsuki‎‎ and, along side his brother, was the first of humans to be born with chakra. He and his brother also defeated the Ten-Tails in battle, and sealed the powerful beast within Hagoromo, thus making him the first jinchūriki.

Contents

Background

Hagoromo was born as one of two children to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki‎‎, a princess who ate the forbidden fruit of the Shinju that appeared once a millennium in an effort to gain god-like abilities, which she used to put an end to the constant wars during that era. As a result, Hagoromo was born with the ability to manipulate the same type of powerful chakra as his mother. The Shinju, furious with Kaguya's actions, was determined to get its chakra back, which caused the tree to assume a monstrous form that would come to be known as the Ten-Tails.

The Ten-Tails rampaged throughout the lands until Hagoromo, with help from his brother, managed to defeat the beast by becoming its jinchūriki, causing him to be revered as a god for the virtue of his victory. With his knowledge of the concept of chakra, Hagoromo travelled across the land, giving chakra to others as well as spreading his ideals and religion, ninshū, which eventually became the ability known as ninjutsu.[4] According to Jiraiya, his great deeds and ultimate desire to bring peace to the war-torn world made him widely known as the Saviour of this World (この世の救世主, Kono Yo no Kyūseishu).[2][5]

Hagoromo's ultimate wish was to establish peace across the world, but it was a goal that would never be achieved in a single lifetime. Knowing this, he chose to entrust his dream and legacy to his two sons, and began to teach them ninshū. The older son, Indra, was acknowledged by Hagoromo as a true prodigy, who quickly began to revel in his natural prowess and became very solitary. The younger son, Asura, proved to be the exact opposite, having shown no special abilities or natural talent, but he pushed on through his limitations, growing stronger and more mature because of his struggles and making friends along the way. Hagoromo acknowledged Asura's chosen path, agreeing that love and cooperation were the true key to peace.[6]

Hagoromo with the young tailed beasts.

Inspired by his younger son, Hagoromo separated the Ten-Tails' chakra within his body and used his Creation of All Things ability to divide it into nine separated bodies, creating the tailed beasts and giving each a name.[7] As a result of extracting them all at once, Hagoromo was left weakened and incapacitated for several months, though the powerful life force of the Ten-Tails' husk kept him alive.[8] Some time after their creation, the young tailed beasts were told that they were all still linked to one another despite being separate entities. Hagoromo also told them that they would eventually become one again, yet not as they originally were, and that one shall appear at that time to show them what true power is.[9] Hagoromo eventually used Chibaku Tensei to seal the husk of the Ten-Tails in what would become the moon.[10] On his deathbed, he chose Asura to be his successor, but Indra, overcome by bitterness and envy, fought against his brother, beginning a war between them that would continue through their descendants.[11]

Hagoromo would leave behind a tablet for his descendants, detailing the history of his struggle with the Ten-Tails. Only those who possess the Rinnegan can fully decipher the contents of the tablet, while a reader with other dōjutsu such as the Sharingan can still partially interpret the information.[12]

Personality

Hagoromo was a man who sought peace by spreading his wisdom across the world. He was exceptionally wise, as he was able to bring about a great change to the world by simply disseminating the principles of chakra and his religion. He also seemed to care a great deal for the tailed beasts when they were still with him; he gave them each a name as a sign of their individuality, and told them that no matter how far apart they grew, they would always be together, and would someday be led down the right path. In return, the tailed beasts showed respect and adoration for the Sage. Kurama even shed a tear at the thought of his imminent passing, suggesting that the beasts might even have viewed him as a sort of father-figure.

Upon meeting Naruto, Hagoromo showed himself to be a very patient and composed individual, being unaffected by Naruto's outbursts. He was a very intelligent man, able to methodically learn new forms of study including language and culture.[13] He was also very stern about his teachings being recognised as "ninshū", believing that "ninjutsu" was created for combat unlike ninshū's pursuit of peace, and gripped his staff rather tightly when Naruto failed to distinguish the difference between the two. At the same time, Hagoromo was a very modest man, openly admitting to his personal mistakes and shame as a father and leader. Despite his god-like status, he also believed that no one should have more power than any other because it leaves a strong chance of the person becoming arrogant and desire even greater power.

Appearance

Hagoromo was a tall and peach-skinned man. In his elderly age, he had deep wrinkles, a long goatee reaching his waist, and short, grayish-red shaggy hair, which spiked up at the top and had a chin-length braid hanging in front of his left ear. Hagoromo had pronounced eyebrow ridges with small, horn-like protrusions above them, as well as a red Rinnegan-like marking in the centre of the forehead. After becoming the Shinju's jinchūriki, his skin turned grey. He wore a white, full-length kimono with a pattern of six black magatama around a high collar, beneath which he wore a necklace which was also made up of six magatama. On the back of his kimono was a larger Rinnegan-like marking with a pattern of nine magatama arranged in three rows of three beneath it.

Abilities

Hagoromo using Creation of All Things.

Though not a great deal is known about all the skills Hagoromo possessed, he is widely accepted to be the most powerful figure in history, second only to his own mother, having defeated the Ten-Tails, albeit with his brother's help. As it was revered as a god, Hagoromo himself came to be seen as a god himself after becoming its jinchūriki, as well as the man to first understand the very nature of chakra itself. This wisdom, combined with his kekkei genkai, the Rinnegan, allowed Hagoromo to create the original form of ninjutsu, ninshū. With such powers at his disposal, Hagoromo obtained a great following, as men and women from across the world strove to learn from his teachings. The power of his chakra was later shown to even transcend time itself, and was able to continue observing the world and meet with people long after his death.

Jinchūriki Transformation

As the very first jinchūriki in history, having the Ten-Tails' great power contained within him, Hagoromo developed immeasurable power and chakra that far surpassed all others. Hagoromo gained the ability to manifest and wield unique chakra-formed weapons. One is a holy sword known as the Sword of Nunoboko, which he reportedly used to shape the world.[14] The other is a completely black, dual-headed shakujō. One end has the typical ringed hoop, while the other end possesses a crescent shaped curve, representing the sun and moon respectively.[15]

Ninshū

A man of great wisdom and power, Hagoromo invented ninshū as a way to bring peace to a war-torn world. He intended for this power to connect all humans and bring forth harmony, however, humans would use this to widen the rift between them all, turning it into what became ninjutsu.

Fūinjutsu

Using fūinjutsu he was able to first seal the Ten-Tails into his own body, and was later able to seal it away when his life came to an end. Even on his deathbed, Hagoromo was able to employ his Chibaku Tensei technique on a massive scale and use that chakra to create the moon to imprison the body of the Ten-Tails within it, a clear testament to his incredible power.

Yin–Yang Release

By using the Yin chakra, that comes from the spiritual energy, and the Yang chakra, that comes from the physical energy, he had the ability to create form from nothingness with a mere thought to bring it to life. Hagoromo created the nine tailed beasts from the Ten-Tails' chakra by using this ability.[7]

Bukijutsu

Hagoromo was shown carrying two objects. One was what appeared to be a katana, implying that he was skilled in kenjutsu, whilst the other was a shakujō — a Buddhist ringed staff which is meant to be used in prayer.[16]

Treasured Tools

Hagoromo wielded unique tools which became known as the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths, each of which possess a unique and powerful ability. The five treasures are: the Bashōsen, Benihisago, Kōkinjō, Shichiseiken, and the Kohaku no Jōhei. By combining the Benihisago, Kōkinjō, and Shichiseiken, Hagoromo could capture the word soul of his victims, and then draw them into the gourd to seal them away. With the Bashōsen, he could generate any of the five basic elements. The Kohaku no Jōhei allowed him to seal anyone without the elaborate procedures used for the Benihisago.

Dōjutsu

Rinnegan

Hagoromo was believed to have been the only shinobi to have fully mastered the Rinnegan, and also learned to control all five types of nature chakra. As a wielder of the Rinnegan, he also wielded all the abilities of the Six Paths Technique.[17]

Part II

Return of Madara Arc

After the Yin half of Kurama was sealed inside of Naruto Uzumaki, the legendary sage met within Naruto's mind to speak with him, noting that he felt drawn to Naruto. After the young shinobi grows angry from Hagoromo's philosophical speech, Hagoromo gets to the matter at hand. He begins to explain his family history from his mother to his two sons, to Naruto, which lead him to reveal to the latter, that he is in fact the reincarnation of his younger son Asura. Realising that Naruto had already realised this on some level, Hagoromo also went on to explain that similarly, Indra has repeatedly reincarnated himself into others, most recently, as Naruto correctly guessed, Sasuke Uchiha. Hagoromo explained that Indra's previous incarnation, Madara, sought not only the Sage's power, but that of his mother's, having broken from the normal cycle of life.

As the Sage asked Naruto to stop Madara, Naruto thanked him for his trust, to which Hagoromo insisted that he deserved no praise after his failings as a father and leader as well as having let the world continue to follow the belief of power for peace. Naruto disagreed with Hagoromo being a failure, to which Gyūki, Shukaku, and the Yin half of Kurama agreed as they appeared inside Naruto's mind. As the tailed beasts voiced their agreement to Naruto being the child of the prophecy, Hagoromo summoned the other tailed beasts. Admitting to his mistake of solely trusting one son and ignoring the other, Hagoromo entrusted Naruto to help reshape the world for the better. He then asked Naruto what his goal was after the war ended. Simultaneously elsewhere, Hagoromo met with Sasuke, telling him the same story and asking him the same question. Accepting the answers of his reincarnated offspring, Hagoromo transferred his power to the two friends, ensuring he did not repeat the mistake of only entrusting the task to just one.

Legacy

It is almost impossible to overestimate Hagoromo's effect on the course of the ninja world's development. As the first true ninja, he created the ninja world, revolutionised it, and left it forever changed. As his disciples grew continuously greater in number, it led to the creation of ninja clans, and later, ninja villages.

As time passed, Hagoromo ultimately faded into legend. His bloodline was divided into the descendants of his two children, which would eventually form the Senju clan — and through distant relations, the Uzumaki clan — and the Uchiha clan. As a result of Madara Uchiha acquiring and integrating the DNA of Hashirama Senju into his body, the Rinnegan would later resurface. Though he noted nothing happened initially after the DNA integration, when Madara neared the end of his natural lifespan, the dōjutsu finally awakened.[18] With that, Madara managed to undo Hagoromo's seal on the vessel of the Ten-Tails by summoning it from the moon and formulated the Eye of the Moon Plan to become the Ten-Tails' new jinchūriki.[18]

Because Nagato, a pupil of Jiraiya's, possessed the Rinnegan, the latter suspected Nagato to be the reincarnation of the Sage himself.[19] In reality, Madara had secretly transplanted his own Rinnegan into the boy without his knowledge.[18] Nagato, as a descendant of the Senju-related Uzumaki clan, was the perfect host for the dōjutsu; however, Nagato himself noted that his own power would have paled in comparison to the Sage's.[20] Others, including Kakashi Hatake, noted that the Rinnegan was viewed merely as a mutation.[21] The tailed beasts' recognition of Hagoromo (and their apparent status as the only survivors from his lifetime), lended credibility to his existence.[22][23]

Before he died, Hagoromo told the young tailed beasts that someone would come and lead them on the right path. The tailed beasts would all later come to agree that this person is Naruto Uzumaki.[24]

Trivia

'Hagoromo' (羽衣) literally means 'feather mantle' and is a reference to The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, in which Princess Kaguya is given a hagoromo to wear upon her return to the moon. The surname 'Ōtsutsuki' (大筒木) roughly means 'big bamboo tree' and is derived from an obscure passage in the second volume of the Kojiki about the genealogies of Emperor Suinin, eleventh emperor of Japan, which states that he had a consort named Kaguyahime no Mikoto (迦具夜比売命), the daughter of a king named Ōtsutsukitarine no Miko (大筒木垂根王); tradition holds that these individuals served as the basis for Princess Kaguya and the old bamboo cutter in the aforementioned tale.

His horn-like appendages may in fact symbolise rabbit ears, representing his connection to the moon by evoking the moon rabbit; pop culture depictions of Princess Kaguya and the moon-folk often incorporate features like rabbit ears for this reason.

Quotes

(To the tailed beasts) "I don't have long any more. Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, Gyūki, Kurama. Even though you have been separated, you shall always be together. Until eventually that time shall come when you will become one… You each carry a name… And with a different shape than you had up to now, you will be shown a righteous path, different from the time you spent inside of me. What is true power… …Until that time…" (「私はもう長くない 守鶴・又旅・磯撫・孫悟空・穆王・犀犬・重明・牛鬼・九喇嘛 離れていてもお前達はいつも一緒だ いずれ一つとなる時が来よう…それぞれの名を持ち…今までとは違う形でな そして私の中に居た時と違い正しく導かれる 本当の力とは何か… …その時まで…」, "Watashi wa mō nagakunai. Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Gokū, Kokuō, Saiken, Chōmei, Gyūki, Kurama. Hanarete ite mo omaetachi wa itsumo issho da. Izure hitotsu to naru toki ga koyō… Sorezore no na o mochi… Ima made to wa chigau katachi de na. Soshite watashi no naka ni ita toki to chigai tadashiku michibikareru. Hontō no chikara to wa nani ka… …Sono toki made…")[9]